Healthcare Reform

The time has come for this country to change its healthcare delivery model and redistribute care


Oct-20, 2009

As time marches on, many hospitals and health systems continue to struggle for the appropriate business model in order to address the economic realities that we face today - combined with implications of healthcare reform, new technologies, and financial survivability. When looking at all the dynamics that surround our clients today, many have chosen (and rightfully so) to deemphasize the amount of revenues associated with inpatient care and accelerate delivery in other areas including outpatient / ambulatory, long-term care, home care, etc.

Bottom line, I think it's fair to say the time has come for this country to change its healthcare delivery model and redistribute care in order to meet the needs and demands of the consumer. Hopefully, healthcare reform will provide insurance for those who are uninsured (47 million) in some form or fashion and that preventive healthcare will become a reality vs reactive healthcare that's often delivered in the most expensive setting - namely a hospital bed to the tune of $10,000+ per day. When you think of the redistribution of care, it's literally just that. Today, approximately 50% of revenues are inpatient, 25% outpatient and 25% other services - to a fully-distributed model with varied percentages including inpatient, outpatient / ambulatory services, home care, long-term care, retail, chronic disease, physician practices, etc. I believe that the heavily-dominated business model of inpatient care will become a thing of the past except for the large urban or academic medical centers.

So, how does Lillibridge play in a market that is unfolding as a result of the "perfect storm" - the combination of an economic crisis, financial meltdown for hospitals, and now the eve of healthcare reform? When you step back and think about our business, our strategy has been to facilitate the growth and profitability for our clients in the area of outpatient / ambulatory services. The good news for us is the shift toward outpatient / ambulatory services has gone on for years; but now, with reform, more people will be coming through the system in a different way than ever before - a physician's office vs the emergency room. As a result, we will see increased demand for the facilities that we have acquired / developed; therefore, we remain well positioned to be the recipient of those opportunities.

 

toddlillibridge

Todd W. Lillibridge

Chairman and CEO
312 408 1370
tlillibridge@lillibridge.com  

Tags: ambulatory services,
emergency room, healthcare
reform, inpatient, insurance,
outpatient, physicians,
preventive, uninsured.